HC seeks responses on felling of 7k trees for road project in Doon valley

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the state biodiversity board, forest department, state govt and the Centre to file their responses to allegations that nearly 7,000 trees are proposed to be felled for the construction of a road between Asharodi and Jhajhra under the Gatiman Green Project in the Yamuna and Doon Valleys.A division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay was hearing a public interest litigation raising concerns over the environmental impact of large-scale tree-felling, including threats to wildlife and natural water sources. The matter has been listed for a hearing in three weeks.The petition was filed by Dehradun-based social worker Renu Pal, who alleged that no permission had been obtained from the Uttarakhand biodiversity board for the project. The petitioner also stated that the affected forests are home to over 300 bird species, serve as a buffer zone for elephants, and that the nearby Asan Barrage houses a diverse range of migratory bird species.